The Mark of Kronos
by DarthMittens
Summary: Through no fault of his own, Percy is blasted into the future. There, he meets his daughter...and discovers the world is in no way similar to the world he remembers.
1. Chapter 1  Prologue

**A/N: Well, here's the first chapter for my first long PJO fic.**

**Despite the title, this story starts at the end of TLO (timeline-wise, not story-wise). The title's just a coincidence. Really. (I think. I'm going off memory alone).**

**Also, I'm thinking about doing a 'Mark of Athena' story because all the ones I see are about ten thousand words long. Mine would be 80,000+. **

**Enjoy!**

**The Mark of Kronos**

**Chapter 1 – Prequel**

Percy slowly walked through the night, the cold wind teasing his hair as it blew through Camp Half-Blood. He took a deep breath as he raised his hand to knock on the Athena cabin's door, the breath visible as he released it. He knocked and took a step back, looking around at the various stars while he waited for a child of Athena to answer.

The door opened and Percy smiled when he saw that it was Annabeth, who he drew into a hug. She hugged him back, but whispered in his ear, "What could possibly be so important that you come to my cabin and wake me up at two in the morning?"

"The most important thing in the world," he said seriously, grabbing her hand and leading her back to his cabin.

Once inside, Percy shut the door and faced her where she was sitting on his bed. He swallowed hard. "Alright Annabeth," he said. "Tomorrow is my sixteenth birthday. This is when it all goes down. It's going to be a hard battle. People will die. _I_ might die."

"Percy, don't—" Annabeth started.

"Don't," Percy interjected. "Don't tell me not to say it. You know it's true. Hell, _you_ might even die. It's part of being a demigod. So before we go into battle tomorrow, I have to tell you." He took a deep breath and released it slowly, releasing all of his tension. Then he smiled at her and said, "Annabeth Chase, oh beautiful daughter of Athena, I am completely and utterly in love with you."

Annabeth gasped, her eyes wide. She stuttered, "I…I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything," Percy replied solemnly, his heart aching nonetheless. "I just wanted you to know before tomorrow."

Annabeth stared at Percy's chest for over a minute, her brain obviously working furiously. Finally, she opened her mouth and quietly said, "I love you too."

Percy gave her a sad smile. "You don't have to say it just because I did."

Annabeth rose her eyes to meet his, their clarity restored. "I'm not," she said happily. "I just needed to make sure this wasn't a dream."

Percy gave her a broad smile and walked up to her, offering her his hand. She took it and smiled up at him as he gently stroked her knuckles with his thumb. "This is completely real," he said quietly. "I'm right here."

Annabeth let him help her up, their noses only a hairsbreadth from touching. She opened her mouth to say something, thought better of it, then closed her mouth again, the corners of her lips turning up into a smile. She wrapped her arms around his neck as she leaned forward and let their lips meet, Percy's hands coming around her waist to rest on the small of her back. She pulled him down on the bed so he was on top of her, the feeling of his weight on top of her amazing.

Percy grinned and kissed her harder, coaxing her lips open so he could explore her mouth with his tongue. But he stopped when he felt water on his cheeks, his eyes opening to see that she was crying, her shoulders quietly heaving with each concealed sob. Percy lingered as he pulled away, her eyes opening as she took shaky breaths.

"What's wrong?" Percy whispered, gently wiping the tears off her face, which was only a few inches away from his own.

She took a deep, shuddering breath and said, "I don't want to lose you tomorrow."

Percy grinned, stroking her soft cheek with the back of his hand. "Then I'll have to make sure I don't die, won't I?"

"You can't promise that, though," she whispered sadly.

"You're right," Percy said with conviction. "I can't promise what's going to happen tomorrow. I can't even promise what's going to happen twenty seconds from now. So why worry about it?" he said, brushing his nose against hers softly, making her eyes flutter closed. "Whatever the fates have planned for me is what's going to happen," he said. "So be happy now, while we know we still can."

Annabeth was silent for a few seconds, eyes still closed. When she spoke, her voice was shaking and almost inaudible. "M-Make love to me," she breathed.

Percy swallowed hard, his heart pounding a tattoo against his ribcage. "Annabeth, we're only sixteen."

Her eyes finally opened, pleading…needing. "But this might be the only chance we get," she said sadly. "Please, Percy, love me."

Percy smiled lovingly down at her and pushed a stray curl out of her face, deciding she was right. "I love you so much," he replied, leaning down to kiss her, his hands making their way to the hem of her shirt.

* * *

><p>Percy stood on Mount Olympus, his skin and shirt covered in blood. Some of the blood was his, but most of it was from his enemies. He spit out a mouthful of it, his various cuts burning. Somehow that scythe of Luke's had managed to slice him as easily as a knife through butter despite him having been dipped in the River Styx. He could hear Annabeth moaning on the ground behind him, the sound reassuring. If she was moaning, she was alive.<p>

Luke stood opposite him, panting, the scythe smoldering in the hearth. "Please, Percy," he pleaded, his eyes flickering gold. "Give me the knife…quickly," he said, struggling to hold Kronos back.

Percy gauged the situation quickly before deciding that giving Luke the knife was the best option, passing it over to his former mentor. He loosened the straps of his armor and plunged the knife into his body under his arm, wincing as it sank into his Achilles' heel. He looked over Percy's shoulder and quietly said, "Annabeth, I'm so sorry."

"Luke, no!" she cried, struggling to her feet.

Luke let out a pained cry, then his eyes met Percy's. Luke's eyes flashed gold and he grinned, sending a shiver down Percy's spine. That had been Kronos…

Luke exploded outwards in a spectrum of colors that stopped just as quickly as they started, passing right through Percy's body as if he didn't exist. Then they exploded back inwards, drawing Percy in.

He turned around as Annabeth cried, "Percy!"

Everything went slow-motion as he reached a hand out to grab Annabeth's, their fingers just barely missing.

Percy felt strangely calm as he was sucked towards the center of the explosion, not hearing anything. He knew he was going to die and there was nothing he could do about it.

He looked at Annabeth, a sad smile on his face, a cry of despair on her lips and tears in her eyes as she flew through the air at what seemed to be a millimeter per second, getting farther and farther from him. He didn't hear anything but silence, though.

He opened his mouth. "I love you."

And he was gone.

* * *

><p>Pelagia Gorgophone Jackson stood in the courtyard of Camp Half-Blood that displayed her father's statue, a fierce look in his lifeless eyes as he wielded Anaklusmos. The sun beat down on her as she read the inscription, which she knew by heart.<p>

_Perseus Jackson, 1993-2009_

_A hero who not only gave up his life for the sake of mankind, but had a smile on his face as he did so._

Pelagia reached her hand out and gently touched the base of it. "Why were you smiling?" she asked it, her eyes filling with tears. It was the seventeenth anniversary of the day Kronos and the Titans had been defeated by her father, which made it the sixteenth time she had visited this statue. She avoided it on every other day of the year. Her tears spilled over as her face contorted into a mask of rage. "Why were you smiling as you abandoned me and mom?" she yelled, her heart aching to see him in person so she could ask him why and actually receive an answer.

She pushed a long blond curl out of her face and stepped back from the statue. Why was it _her_ father who had been required to give up his life to save them all? Why couldn't it have been somebody else's dad? Anyone else's dad?

The sound of crunching leaves made her whip her head around, her emerald-green eyes scanning the tree line of the forest, for what she did not know. A boy she had never seen before and was probably her age, just a couple inches taller than her, stumbled out of the forest, his right hand clutching his left bicep. Pelagia ran over to him, her mind racing as she saw how seriously he was injured. Just as she reached him his legs gave out, leaving him to collapse into her arms. "Are you alright?" she asked even though she could tell he wasn't.

But his eyes opened, dull, unfocused green eyes meeting sharp, aware green eyes.

His voice was little more than a hoarse whisper. "Annabeth?"

Then his eyes closed, leaving Pelagia's to widen. _Annabeth_. Then she took stock of the situation and realized that she needed to get this boy help. With great effort, she managed to pick him up and carry him to the infirmary, setting him gently on a bed as one of the Apollo boys who were always at hand came up and started hurriedly examining him. "Go get Chiron," the boy muttered distractedly, hurriedly pulling a square of ambrosia out of his pocket. When Pelagia didn't move, the Apollo boy whipped around and said, "Hurry!"

As Pelagia ran out of the infirmary, she heard the boy begin to sing a song of healing to his father. She should have paid more attention to where she was going, though, as she ran straight into something. "Ouch," she said, looking up to see that she had run into none other than the very centaur she had been seeking.

He didn't pay her any attention, though, not stopping or even slowing down. His eyes were fixated on the infirmary doors as he muttered to himself, "A presence…I feel…a presence I haven't felt in seventeen years."

Pelagia silently walked back into the infirmary with him, her eyes settling on the boy she had brought here. The blood was washed off of him and the cuts seemed to be completely healed. How he had healed that fast Pelagia didn't know, nectar and ambrosia or not.

He was shirtless, a blanket covering everything from his chest down. She noticed an odd tattoo on his right bicep, which appeared to be a cross with an arch over it.

"I have no idea how he healed so quickly," the Apollo boy said, giving his patient a wary glance out of the corner of his eyes.

"I do," Chiron said slowly, stepping up to the side of the bed and gently cupping the boy's face. "He was submerged in the River Styx."

"How do you know?" Pelagia asked. "I've never seen him at camp."

"That's because he was a camper here about twenty years ago," he said slowly, still studying the boy's face with open disbelief.

Pelagia and the Apollo boy met each other's eyes, both silently asking each other if Chiron had gone crazy. But then again, stranger things had happened at camp than a random teenager appearing who actually happened to be in his thirties.

"What's his name?" Pelagia inquired, looking back down at the boy's face.

Finally, Chiron looked at Pelagia, his eyes serious. "He's your father, Pelagia," he said, making Pelagia's heart stop for a moment and her eyes shoot back to the man's face.

"Perseus Jackson."

**A/N: This chapter was a little under 2,000 words. Just to let you know, the rest of the chapters are going to be around 6,000 words each. This one was so short only because it was a prologue.**

**Please don't flame Pelagia's name (which is pronounced Puh-la-gee-ah). Everything (including the meaning behind her name) will be explained next chapter (or you can just google it if you really want to).**

**Thanks for reading and please review if you can spare a few seconds!**


	2. Bad News

**A/N: Thank you, j and m's camphalfbloodtales, for pointing out to me that this story should be rated T. You are indeed correct. It had been sitting in my doc manager for a while before I posted it and I had forgotten about that. Thanks!**

**To the rest of you, thank you so much for your awesome reviews! I love them all!**

**Please Enjoy!**

**Chapter 2 – Bad News**

Percy stirred in his sleep, his head pounding. He squeezed his eyes shut tighter, trying to fight off the bright lights and pain. His body felt as though it had been ripped apart into a thousand pieces and put back together again. He slowly opened his eyes to find that he was in the infirmary at camp.

Why was he in the infirmary?

Then his memories slowly came back to him. He had fought Kronos on Olympus, and Kronos had exploded into a bunch of lights that had sucked him back in…how was he not dead?

"Annabeth?" he moaned groggily.

"Percy," replied a voice that definitely wasn't Annabeth's. He looked over to see Chiron looking at him with a relieved look on his face.

"Chiron?" he said blearily, rubbing his eyes. "What happened?"

"You've been asleep for a week," the centaur replied.

Percy shot up in bed. "A week?" he exclaimed, fully waking up.

He noticed that Chiron seemed to be unnaturally nervous. "What's going on, Chiron?" he asked, his heart thumping in his chest.

"Please relax, Percy, and take a drink," he said softly, gesturing to the water on his bedside table.

Percy laid back against the bed, but he was uncomfortably tense. There was nothing but bad news in store if Chiron had asked him to relax first. "Tell me, Chiron," Percy demanded softly.

Chiron sighed. "Well, Percy…the year is twenty twenty-six."

Percy froze. "Wait…what?" he asked hoarsely.

"You seem to have been propelled seventeen years into the future," Chiron said, an uneasy look on his face. "Annabeth told me after the battle that you had just…disappeared. You must have been transported through time by Kronos." He pointed to the mark on Percy's arm. "That's his symbol."

Percy was hyperventilating at this point. "So I'm still seventeen and Annabeth's…thirty-three?" he said. "I've been dead for seventeen years," he said, his head throbbing. He swallowed and looked up at Chiron with panicked eyes. "Annabeth? Where is she? She'll know how to fix this." Chiron looked at the foot of Percy's bed somberly, making his stomach drop to his feet. "Chiron," he said forcefully. "Tell me where Annabeth is."

When Chiron met Percy's eyes, there was nothing in them but pain and sadness. "Percy," he said soothingly. He knew what was coming next; that was the only time anyone ever said anyone else's name like that.

Percy felt hot tears sting his eyes. "Don't say it," he said. Chiron opened his mouth, but Percy yelled, "Don't say it! She's not dead!"

There were tears forming in Chiron's eyes, too. "Percy, I'm so sorry," he said.

"I was just with her last night!" Percy cried, a sob bursting forth. "She's not dead!"

"She died nine months after you, almost seventeen years ago" Chiron said softly, gently gripping Percy's shaking shoulders. "She's gone, Percy."

Percy broke down, crying for the first time in who knew how long. She was dead. She had been dead for almost seventeen years. "Why is this happening to me?" he cried, his heart throbbing in his chest. How could she have died? He had told her he was going to do his best not to! He hadn't died, so why had she? He had killed Kronos, too. Wasn't that supposed to be the end of it?

Suddenly the door burst open, revealing a girl who was Percy's age and had angry tears in her eyes. "Pelagia," Chiron said. "I asked you not to come around her once he had woken up."

But Pelagia paid him no attention. "You have no right to cry," she said, shaking with rage. "You're the one who killed her!"

"I've never laid a finger on her," Percy choked out, stepping out of his bed to stand in front of the girl. "And I would never lay a finger on her."

"But you _died_," she said, glaring at him with a ferocity that sent waves of nostalgia crashing through him.

"You're a daughter of Athena," he whispered, equating her look with Annabeth. Then he shook his head. "What did me dying have anything to do with her dying?" he asked.

"Percy," said Chiron smoothly, cutting off Pelagia's surely angry remark. "Annabeth told me what happened the night before you…disappeared." Percy's cheeks flamed. "Pelagia here, well…she's the result of that night."

Percy looked at her, still digesting what Chiron had just said. Then it hit him, making him freeze, his heart stopping in his chest. He stuttered, "Wait…you mean…you…she…"

"Annabeth died right after giving birth to her," Chiron said softly. "She just…gave up."

"Annabeth doesn't just _give up_," Percy retorted angrily, his eyes not leaving his daughter's. "There had to have been something else."

Chiron rubbed his face, seemingly exhausted, and said, "Percy, nobody's blaming you—"

"_I _am," Pelagia said fiercely.

"Pelagia," Chiron said a bit tiredly. "Will you please step outside?"

"It's alright, Chiron," Percy replied heavily, looking down at the floor as hot tears made their way down his face. "It _is _my fault. If I hadn't disappeared, Annabeth wouldn't have…she…well, she'd still be here."

He expected Pelagia to agree, but his statement was surprisingly met with complete silence. He looked up to find Pelagia also looking at the ground sadly, her posture mirroring his own. Then she looked up at him, their identical eyes meeting. In their depths he could see nothing but resentment. Then came the agreement. "She would," Pelagia whispered with conviction before turning around and storming out of the infirmary.

Percy and Chiron remained silent for a few seconds, Percy depressed and Chiron disappointed with Pelagia. "She'll get better," Chiron remarked softly. "She just needs some time to digest everything."

"Yeah," Percy said sadly, collapsing back onto the bed. "Does my mom…I mean, is she alive?"

Chiron, normally good at controlling his emotions, felt his throat begin to burn at the sad, defeated, vulnerable tone of Percy's voice. "She's alive," he said. "She doesn't know you're back yet, though. We didn't know if you were going to wake up. We didn't want to get her hopes up."

"I'd like to see her," said Percy lifelessly.

Chiron gave him a sad smile even though Percy wasn't looking at him. "I'll go fetch Argus."

Chiron went to leave, but Percy stopped him with a hand to the arm. "It's alright," he said. "I'll take Blackjack."

Chiron nodded and left, wanting to get out of the infirmary before the atmosphere of depression overwhelmed him. Percy sighed and walked over to the cabins, where he went into his old home. There were no campers in there as usual, but he was interested to find that his bed had been turned into a shrine. Pictures of him were placed on the perfectly made blankets, along with long-dead flowers and the ashes of his shroud. Everything had dust on it, even the flowers. Just as he was about to turn away to head back to the door, one of the pictures caught his eye. It was a picture of him and Annabeth smiling happily at the camera, their shoulders barely touching. He took the picture out of its frame and slipped it into his pocket, trying vainly to fight off the tears that were burning his eyes.

Just as he was about to let loose and cry, he heard the door of the cabin creak open.

"Percy?" a familiar voice asked as the lights flipped on.

Percy slowly turned around, a grin growing on his face. "G-man?" he asked in return. Grover had barely changed at all, the only real differences being his height and additional facial hair.

"You're really alive!" Grover exclaimed, bringing Percy into a bear hug.

"Grover…can't…breathe…" Percy choked out, doing his best to hug his friend back.

"Right, sorry," Grover said, releasing him. He looked at Percy disbelievingly. "You're really alive," he said quietly.

"You're not getting rid of me that easily," Percy replied cheekily.

"That's what I kept telling Annabeth!" Grover exclaimed. "'There's no proof that he's dead,' I said. 'He'll come back some day.'" Grover fell silent as he realized what he had just said, Percy looking down at the floor. "I'm sorry, Percy," Grover said. "I forgot it's still new to you."

"It's fine," he replied quietly. "I have to get used to the fact that she's gone…and that I have a daughter…and that she hates me."

Grover sighed. "It can't be _that_ bad," he said.

Percy did nothing other than look up at his friend with his lips pressed in a thin line. Grover swallowed hard. "So it _can_ be that bad," he amended.

Percy sighed. "I'm going to swing by my mom's," he said, using an excuse so he could be alone for a few minutes. Even though it had been so long for Grover, it had only been a day for Percy.

Grover nodded, opened his mouth to say something, thought better of it, and gave Percy a pat on the shoulder before leaving the cabin. Percy waited for a couple minutes, glanced at the pictures one more time, and left, putting his hands in his pockets as he headed towards the beach. It seemed that he had woken up in the evening as it was already dark outside, the stars accentuating the illumination provided by the low full moon.

When he got to the beach, he took Riptide out of his pocket and uncapped it, releasing the glowing celestial bronze sword. He did nothing else but kick off his shoes and socks, staring at the bronze the entire time. This single weapon had started it all. It had been that moment that he had uncapped it for the first time and driven it through Mrs. Dodds that it had all started. If he had never received this _stupid_ sword, he would have never met Annabeth. And if he hadn't met Annabeth, she wouldn't have died.

Percy sat down, still staring at the sword with unfocused eyes. It was this sword that had been in his pocket countless times with Annabeth at his side, her trusty knife held in skilled hands. It was this sword that had held off a god…it was this sword that had been in his hands when Annabeth had kissed him for the first time in the middle of a monster-infested volcano.

Percy clenched the handle, hot tears filling his eyes. He stood up and threw the sword as far as he could into the water, panting heavily through the aching pain in his chest. His breathing slowly calmed down as the sword reappeared in pen form in his pocket. He took it out and uncapped it again, sighing as he drove it into the ground. He laid down next to it and stared at the stars, trying to collect and organize his hectic thoughts. Despite how strong he was and everything he had been through, all of this was overwhelming…it was like some sort of nightmare.

He chuckled. He wished with every fiber of his being that all of this was just a horrible nightmare. Just an apparition that would flee his mind as soon as he woke up with Annabeth in his arms. He would go face Kronos, kill him, and he and Annabeth would live happily ever after.

A soft breeze blew through camp, making Percy's hair flutter and tickle his face. He scowled a bit, then softened back up when he looked at the vast infiniteness of the night sky. It was incredible.

"Why were you smiling?" a voice asked from beside him.

He glanced over to see that it was his daughter, who was sitting beside him, scowling at him. "What?" he asked, looking back up at the stars.

"Why were you smiling at the end?" she demanded. "I've always wanted to know…so just…just answer me."

Percy remained silent for so long that Pelagia began to think that he had decided to ignore her. Then he licked his lips, glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, and said, "Because I was dying and there was nothing I could do about it."

"Why were you smiling?" Pelagia yelled, upset that he was beating around the bush with her.

"Because I knew she was safe," Percy whispered, focusing on the sky again. "I had done what I needed to do. And…and I told her I loved her." His lips began quivering. "And she told me the same. I had everything I had ever wanted. I had lived a short yet incredibly happy life." He wiped his eyes with the back of his arm. "I was glad for the time I had and for having such an awesome friend as your mother." He swallowed hard, more talking to himself and reliving memories than actually explaining the situation to Pelagia. "If I could go back I wouldn't change a thing…except for the end, of course." For some reason, when he had spoken the first part about going back it had felt like a lie. He wasn't lying though, was he? "I was going to die," he said. "What else could I have done other than show her that I was happy and that I loved her?" He sighed and waited for her response, but never got one. After a few minutes, he finally looked over his shoulder and sighed as he realized that she had left.

He looked back at the stars, wishing he could be as carefree as one of those giant, burning balls of gas. None of these problems to worry about…none of this heartbreak to be feeling. Finally, he stood up and whistled loudly. Blackjack came swooping in not too long after, looking better than ever. Percy figured he had finally made it out of his adolescence.

_Yo Boss! _he whinnied excitedly. _I knew that old coot couldn't kill you!_

Percy chuckled softly and patted his head. "If only Annabeth had been as smart as you, Blackjack," he said wistfully.

_Shame, that, _said Blackjack sadly, stomping a foot. Then, on a lighter note, he said, _Hey, you look like you haven't aged a day!_

"It's a long, story, Blackjack, but I haven't really aged at all since I last saw you," Percy said. "You definitely look a lot stronger, though."

Blackjack held his head up proudly. _That's because I finally became a full-fledged adult._

"So you, Mr. Macho, can get me to my mom's?" Percy asked.

This time Blackjack lifted his head indignantly. _Of course I can_.

Percy grinned and hopped on his back, hurriedly scrambling to get his arms around the pegasus's neck as he took off with a little more force than usual. Percy clung to Blackjack even tighter as he sped through the night, the bright lights of New York City approaching swiftly. The explosion of light and color did nothing to help his mood. It wasn't until they had been flying for ten minutes that Percy realized something.

"Hey, Blackjack! You're taking us the wrong way!" Percy yelled.

_What do you mean by that? _Blackjack demanded indignantly. _You think I don't know where I'm going?_

"Well, it has been seventeen years…" Percy said awkwardly.

_What are you talking about? _Blackjack asked, confused. _I just took Pelagia here not two weeks ago._

"You what?" Percy asked.

_Just let me do the flying!_ Blackjack retorted. _You'll understand when you get there_.

Percy shut up and let Blackjack do his thing, looking down at the cars they sped over. Finally, when the apprehension and excitement were eating the very bones of Percy, Blackjack stopped at the window of what had to be the fortieth floor of a building in the heart of the city.

"What are you doing?" Percy shouted over the noise of the wind and traffic.

_This is your mom's place! _Blackjack shouted back, making Percy wince. Apparently the pegasus had forgotten that he communicated with Percy mentally, rendering shouting unnecessary no matter how loud it was outside.

"We're at a window!" Percy shouted back.

_Knock on it! _Blackjack replied.

Percy sighed, shrugged and knocked on the window. The two waited and waited, and just when Percy was about to give up hope, the window was opened.

Percy's eyes widened as he laid eyes on his mother, who gasped. It had only been seventeen years, but somehow his mother had become an old woman. Her hair was grey, there were wrinkles everywhere, and there was a depressed weariness about her eyes. She seemed much older, inside and out.

"Percy?" she said breathlessly, her eyes not leaving her son. "Paul!" she shouted. She began backing up, fear evident in her eyes.

"Mom," Percy said, looking at his mother in disbelief. "It's me, your son. Percy!"

"Paul!" she cried, grasping the table behind her in fright.

Paul came running into the room. "What is it, Sally?" he demanded.

"I'm seeing him again!" she whispered loudly, pointing a shaking finger straight at Percy.

Paul's eyes widened upon seeing him. "Percy!" he cried, running to the window. "It's really him, Sally!" he said excitedly. "Come in, Percy! Come in!"

Percy nodded, his throat dry, and hopped off of Blackjack and into the apartment, which was not only spacious, but decorated lavishly. There were leather sofas, a giant television, a marble kitchen, and stairs leading to another floor. "Wow," Percy breathed as Blackjack whinnied and walked through a doorway leading to another, hidden room.

Percy was crushed by an embrace from his mother, who threatened to squeeze the life out of him for the second time in less than a couple hours. "Mom…ribs…"

She was sobbing all over him and refused to relent. "Oh, Percy! My baby!" she bawled. "You're alive! You're really alive!" She pulled back to look at him with a huge smile on her face despite the tears in her eyes. "Oh, I knew you were alive all along!" She gasped as she studied him longer. "Oh dear! It looks like you haven't aged a day!"

Percy smiled at her sadly. "I haven't," he said. "The last thing I remember before waking up in the present is killing Kronos back in two-thousand nine. I got blasted to the future, which is now," he said, slightly confusing himself. "Everything's so weird here." He looked around the apartment. "How did you get this place?"

Paul smiled. "A gift from the gods for the troubles we were put through and to help take care of Pelagia."

Percy's mom was still holding him at arm's length and smiling at him. "Oh, Percy," she said, still in happy disbelief. "I'm sure by now that you know you have a daughter. Have you met her yet? I'm sure she would absolutely love you!" Percy chuckled wryly, but right as he was about to tell her how his daughter really fell about him, she took her hands off his shoulders to put them on her hips. "And I'm very disappointed in you for having unprotected sex with Annabeth when you were only sixteen years old!"

Percy looked down, knowing that at this point that his mom wasn't really mad anymore. "She hates me," he whispered.

"Sorry?" Sally responded, the smile on her face turning into a look of worry.

"She hates me for abandoning her, dying, and killing Annabeth," Percy said heavily, his chest constricting. _Annabeth_.

"But you didn't kill Annabeth…did you?" his mom asked.

Percy took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Even if I didn't do it directly, it is my fault she's dead," he said.

"Don't look at it like that," his mom said placatingly. "It wasn't your—"

"Yes it was, mom," Percy interjected, refusing to accept anyone's sympathy. "If I hadn't disappeared, she wouldn't have died. If I hadn't confessed my feelings to her, she wouldn't have died." He did his best to keep the hot, prickly tears in his eyes. "If I had never met her, she wouldn't have died," he finished with a hoarse whisper.

"Don't you dare speak like that, Perseus Jackson," his mother said in the sternest voice she had ever taken with him. "Everybody makes their own choices, and it so happened that Annabeth chose to befriend you. She chose to fall in love with you just as you did with her, and she chose to go through with the pregnancy. We don't do anybody any good by dwelling negatively on the past. The only thing you can control is your future, Percy."

"Yeah," Percy responded half-heartedly, walking to a leather couch and sitting down heavily. His mother sat opposite him, looking at him with surprisingly shrewd eyes.

"Percy, I know you're hurting right now," she said softly, taking his hands, "but you're needed by not only me, and Paul, and Grover, and all your other friends, but by your daughter as well."

Percy sighed, a headache building. "Tell me about her," he said.

"Well, for starters, Annabeth named her Pelagia Gorgophone Jackson," Sally said proudly. "Pelagia means—"

"Of the ocean," Percy said, looking down at his hands in concentration. "And Gorgophone…Gorgophone was a child of the original Perseus. Her name means 'Gorgon Slayer'."

Sally smiled sadly. "The ocean, a child of Perseus, and your last name," she said quietly. "Can you see where Annabeth got the inspiration?"

Percy swallowed hard past the lump in his throat, his heart and chest burning. Gods, how he loved Annabeth. The burning sensation crept up to his throat, where he desperately tried to fend it off. He loved how smart she was, her beautiful blonde hair, her radiant smile, her stormy grey eyes, and how she always scolded him. A teardrop landed on his hand. He loved everything about her.

He heaved a great sob and the floodgates finally opened, his tears finally flowing freely. It was okay to cry now that he was home, even if home was an apartment he was currently sitting in for the first time. But the real home was in his mother's arms as she came over to him and hugged him, shakily smoothing the back of his hair.

"Mom, why did she have to die?" he sobbed into her shoulder. "Why?"

She sniffled in his ear. "It's a part of life, darling," she replied quietly.

"I loved her," he moaned pitifully, clutching her harder.

"I know you did, Percy," she replied soothingly. "And I know she loved you."

Percy sobbed without speaking for a long time after that, not stopping until he had cried himself out, sleep threatening to overwhelm him despite the coma. It was all just so much to take in. He had barely registered in his mind that Paul had stepped out of the room while he was crying.

His mom laid him down on the couch, smiling down at him. "Tell me more about her," Percy said hoarsely, doing his best to keep his eyes open.

"I'll tell you tomorrow," his mom replied with a smile, brushing his hair back from his forehead.

"Mom…" Percy said vulnerably.

"What is it, dear?" she asked quietly.

"I miss her," he breathed before sleep finally claimed him, pulling him to a world that had much less stress than that of reality.

"I know you do, Percy," Sally responded anyway, kissing her son's forehead. "I'm sure you miss her just as much as I missed you."

* * *

><p>Percy awoke groggily the next day, his eyes and throat sore from crying. "Mom?" he said, trying to shield the light with his hand with little success. "Mom?"<p>

"Good morning, Percy," came the reply along with the sound of a plate being placed on the coffee table in front of him. Ah, bacon, eggs, and pancakes…the pancakes being blue, of course. She hadn't forgot. "How do you feel?"

"I don't know," Percy said slowly, looking down at himself. "Oddly enough, I think…I think I feel a little better."

Sally nodded knowingly and sat across from her son with a cup of coffee. "A good cry does wonders," she said.

Percy nodded and took a bite of bacon, savoring the taste. It was absolutely delicious. "Where's Paul?" he asked.

"At work," his mom replied. "We can talk about anything you want, just you and me."

Percy took a drink of the orange juice that had come along with his breakfast. "Could you tell me more about Pelagia?" he asked.

"Well," his mom started, "at the time she was born, I was in no condition to raise a child. So Chiron took her in at camp?"

"Wait, she's a demigod?" Percy interrupted.

"Well, yes and no," his mom answered cryptically.

"What exactly does that mean?" Percy asked.

"It means that yes, she is half-god, half-human, and therefore can see through the Mist and is allowed within camp," she said. "And it means no, that she's not the direct child of a god. She's one half human, one quarter Poseidon, and one quarter Athena. She has a little ability from both of her godly grandparents, such as a little control over water and an ability to plan and strategize better than the level of the average human—or demigod, for that matter—but doesn't have the strength in terms of abilities that the actual children of Athena and Poseidon have."

"Does she have trouble fitting in at camp, then?" Percy inquired.

Sally considered it for a moment. "You know," she said, "I don't really know. I don't follow the goings-on of camp that much. When Pelagia comes over here, though, she never seems to be apprehensive about going back, so I assume there's nothing really that bad going on over there."

"I see," Percy said. "She lives at camp year-round, then?"

"That is correct," his mom replied. "She comes and visits when she can, of course."

"W-What's her personality like?" Percy asked, unable to restrain himself from wanting to know every little detail about his daughter.

"She…well, she's a lot like Annabeth," Sally said carefully. "Except she has your talent for rushing into situations without thinking."

"I see," Percy said. "And—"

"No more," his mom replied, cutting him off. "It's up to you to discover the rest, Percy. You have to find out on your own how to bond with your daughter and get to know her better."

Percy sighed, knowing he wasn't going to get anything more from his mom. "Fine," he grumbled with a mouth full of the last bit of his breakfast. "I'm going to camp then."

He stood up and hugged his mom, who wouldn't let go. "Oh Percy, I'm so glad you're back."

Percy did nothing but smile at her, knowing it would be a lie if he said he was glad he was back too. "I love you, mom," he said. "I'll be back to visit again in a couple days."

"Just come by whenever," she replied, her eyes tearing up. "Oh look at me, getting all emotional. Tell Pelagia hi for me." With that, she went up the stairs, leaving Percy alone.

He went into the room that he had seen Blackjack disappear into. His jaw immediately dropped. The room had a single stable with Blackjack's name on a plaque above the door. "Wow," he said.

_What can I say? _ Blackjack said smugly. _Your ma adores me._

"You spoiled brat," Percy teased him.

_Yeah yeah, Mr. Jealousy,_ Blackjack retorted. _Just hop on already so we can get back to camp._

Percy did just that, this time conversing and joking with Blackjack the whole way back to camp. Percy could tell the pegasus was just as excited about his homecoming as the rest of them. "Thanks, Blackjack," Percy said, grinning.

_Anytime, Boss, _he replied. _You know me_.

Blackjack retreated into the stables, leaving Percy alone. He decided to walk over to the Big House to check up with Chiron, who was reading a book in his wheelchair. "Ah, Percy," he greeted him without looking away from his book. "So good to see you."

"It's good to see you too, Chiron," Percy replied, amazed as always that his old Latin teacher was aware of everything around him without even trying. "So what exactly is going to happen with me?"

"I actually wanted to talk to you about that, Percy," said Chiron, putting down his book and looking Percy in the eye. "I want to offer you a position as a counselor here."

"What?" Percy blurted incredulously. "Me? A counselor?"

"Indeed," Chiron replied. "I could use your leadership and battle skills to help train the newest batches of demigods."

"I'd be honored," Percy replied. "But I mean, are you sure you want me? My own daughter is older than me. I'm sure she'd have much more experience."

"Actually," said Chiron, "she's never been on a quest. You've been on several quests and you fought in the last great Olympian war. Trust me, Percy, you're best suited for the job."

Percy stood dumbfounded for a few seconds, then hastily replied, "Well, thank you then, Chiron. What exactly do you want me to do, then?"

Chiron studied him for a long while. "Well, I want you to do several things, actually," he finally said. "When it's general activity time, I'll have you roam and supervise everything. And given your unmatched skill in battle, you'll be teaching all of the major lessons. Other than that, just do what you think a counselor should do."

Percy almost left, then a thought struck him. "Does everyone know yet, Chiron?"

Chiron sighed. "I felt it best that everyone is informed of the situation so they can help you transition smoothly. I hope you're okay with that."

"Oh, of course," Percy replied quickly. "And thanks for making me a counselor, Chiron."

Chiron nodded, a small smile on his face. "Go along, then," he said, shooing Percy out of the Big House.

Percy stepped outside and surveyed the camp from the porch of the Big House, feeling calm despite his depression for the first time since arriving in the future.

He could do this.

**A/N: There was a lot of Percy being sad in this chapter, which I assure you will change somewhat soon. Other than that, don't flame me too harshly over Annabeth. You think I wanted her to die? I assure you though, that there will be a happy ending even if it's not in the way you imagine, so please don't let her death turn you away from the story.**

**Thanks for reading and please review (assuming you can spare the thirty seconds)!**


	3. The First Day

**A/N: Well, here's the next chapter. I have another WIP, so it'll probably be anywhere from 1-2 weeks between every chapter (+ school). My muse seems to want to keep churning out 5,000 word chapters, but we'll see what happens with the next.**

**I was going to post this yesterday, but as I'm sure most of you know nobody was able to log in.**

**Other than that, please enjoy!**

**Chapter 3 – The First Day**

Percy yawned and stretched as he stepped out of bed, his eyes burning. Falling asleep naturally had been much harder than crying himself to sleep at his mom's. The thoughts and memories had come on strong the previous night and didn't exactly want to relent. Suffice to say, he was a bit tired.

At least he had camp counselor duties to keep his mind off things.

Percy put on his white Camp Half-Blood T-shirt, which showed he was a counselor, and made his way out to the dining area, where quite a few of the campers were already eating. He spotted Pelagia at the Athena table, sighing as she glared at him while he sat down. Seems she hadn't decided to go even a little easier on him.

"Well, hello Percy," said Chiron from his side.

"Hey, Chiron," he said a little dully, watching as Pelagia turned to a friend and smiled.

"Have a little trouble sleeping last night?" his old mentor asked, sharp as usual.

"Understatement of the century," he mumbled sarcastically, eating his breakfast burrito half-heartedly.

"It'll get better," Chiron said quietly, patting Percy's shoulder soothingly.

Percy took another bite. After swallowing it, he finally said, "Everyone says that, but will it really?"

"It's only been two days, Percy," Chiron said a touch desperately. "Believe me, you'll get there eventually."

Percy took another bite of his burrito, refusing to respond. He knew neither of them would budge. He sighed and looked around, the tables now almost completely full. Something strange hit him.

"Chiron, where's Mr. D?" he asked through a mouthful of food.

"Mr. D finished his tenure here eight years ago," Chiron replied neutrally.

Percy kept his grin hidden from the centaur, looking down at his food as he mentally rejoiced. At least he wouldn't have to be worried about being turned into a grapevine because a certain god was a little grumpy this time.

He had to take what he could get at this point, right?

"Percy, look over the tables," said Chiron, bending low to talk to him.

Percy did as he was told, looking over the multitude of children laughing, eating, and goofing off. He wasn't too surprised to see some of them whispering and glancing at him, while quite a few girls both his age and not seemed to be openly staring at him.

"Are you ready to take on this responsibility?" Chiron continued seriously.

Percy focused on the figure of his daughter as she studiously ignored him, focusing on her friends instead. "I'm ready," he said, determination flowing through him.

He reached the end of the tables with his eyes and saw a pretty girl sitting alone, picking at her food gloomily. She was probably his age, with long, smooth brown hair that curled just the tiniest bit at the ends. When she glanced up at him, he was surprised to find the coldest, most unforgiving sapphire eyes he had ever seen.

Percy pointed her out to Chiron. "Who is that?" he whispered.

Chiron cleared his throat in response, obviously choosing his words carefully. "Her name is Bailey Cooper," he said. "You may find her a little more difficult to deal with than the others. She's…well, let's just say she's not exactly the social type."

"And her godly parent?" Percy asked.

"She's the first daughter of Artemis," said Chiron.

Percy choked on his glass of milk. "What?" he exclaimed quietly. "Daughter of Artemis?"

"She felt left out," Chiron said. "She still retains her virgin status, though. She used artificial insemination so she could have a hero to rely on. She was raised here along with your daughter, only that Bailey is a year younger."

Percy mulled the situation over. "So Artemis has a daughter…and she's named Bailey?" he asked slowly by way of confirmation.

He felt Chiron shrug beside him. "Said she liked the name," he said. Then, even more quietly, he discreetly whispered, "Try and help her out, will you? She doesn't have any friends…I think she's lonely."

"Yeah," he whispered, his eyes still on her. He wondered how much of her DNA was her father's and how much was her mother's. She just had a quality about her that made her seem…more than a demigod. "I think I can do that."

The two went back to eating, each lost in their own thoughts. When they were both done, Chiron addressed the campers. "Well, everyone," he began. "I have a quick announcement to make before we get started for the day. We have a new counselor…well, really our first counselor in a long while. His name is Percy Jackson," Chiron hoisted Percy to his feet, "and if you have any questions during your activities today, feel free to ask him."

"I have a question," a gruff voice immediately said. The owner of the voice was standing at the Ares table, a young man who not only looked older than Percy, but looked as though he weighed about a hundred pounds more than him. "How is this runt qualified to be a counselor?"

There was complete silence as all the heads turned back to Percy expectantly. Percy glanced at Chiron, who gave him a quick, reassuring nod. Percy swallowed hard and looked back at the faces. This was going to be harder than he thought.

"Erm…w-well…" he stuttered, unsure of what to say. Then his eyes fell on his daughter, who was looking down at the table. Percy grinned confidently. "Well, I took part in five incredibly dangerous and important quests. I escaped the underworld alive, I survived the sea of monsters, I fought Atlas and lived to speak about it, I managed to survive Daedalus' labyrinth, and I destroyed Kronos," he said in a rare bout of boasting. He knew he would need to impress them, though, if he expected them to follow him.

He heard a few whispers of 'Wow'. The Ares kid, however, didn't look all too impressed. "Well I don't want to be taught anything by someone I _know_ I could beat to a pulp."

Percy arched his eyebrow, unsure of how to respond. "Well, in Ancient Greek times, it wasn't very uncommon for a protégé to challenge his teacher," Chiron said. "You can challenge him if you want, though I advise you not to do so. Arrogance leads to nothing but a very long and hard fall."

Percy glanced at Chiron disbelievingly. He was just going to let this happen? Chiron turned and smiled at him. "Good luck, Percy. I think this is an excellent bonding experience for you with the campers. Don't hurt him too badly."

And with that, Chiron went back to the Big House. Everyone was looking at Percy expectantly. "Well, shall we go to the arena then?"

There was a giant cheer as the campers got up, excited for a fight this early in the morning. The Ares camper, a full five or six inches taller than Percy, did his best to stare him down as he roughly bumped into him. Percy shook his head. Amateur. How could a teenager have anything on an evil titan hell-bent on the destruction of the gods?

Percy stayed at the tables until everyone else was long gone. He stood up and stretched, figuring now was a good time to head over. Let everyone get seated and hyped up first.

It wasn't until Percy had taken his first step that he realized there was someone still seated at the tables. He frowned thoughtfully and made his way over to her, stopping on the opposite side of the table. "You're not going to watch?" he asked.

Bailey looked up at him with withering yes that not only sent shivers down his spine, but looked as though they could see straight into him. Definitely a child of Artemis if there was ever one.

"Who wants to watch two idiots go at it with each other while I'm surrounded by a bunch of other idiots?" she asked, arching an eyebrow at him.

Who would've guessed she didn't have any friends? He just chuckled, though, and said, "I've never met anyone who doesn't want to see two idiots going at it, but I guess everybody has their own preferences."

He saw the barest hint of a laugh in her eyes, but it quickly left, chased off by the usual iciness. "My mother is the Goddess of the Hunt. She doesn't have time for idiots and neither do I."

Percy propped his foot up on the bench next to the table and rested on it. "I think that even your mother understands the need for a little fun now and again."

Bailey's eyebrows furrowed. "How would you know anything about my mother?" she asked him skeptically.

Percy smiled at her. "I went on a quest with her…well, sort of. She ended up leaving beforehand, but we ended up rescuing her from Atlas and fighting together. I spent a lot of time with a couple of her hunters." As Bailey looked at him in surprise, he gave her a quirky smile. "See you later, then."

He felt her eyes on him until he was out of sight and he grinned. He didn't know what it was, maybe it was because he was made a counselor or maybe it was because of the shock of having to deal with everything new, but he felt older. Wiser.

When he arrived at the arena, he heard a few girls squeal. He resisted the urge to sigh.

"I thought you had chickened out," the Ares camper said, standing on the opposite side of the arena with a giant, two-handed battle axe. "What's the matter, you scared?"

Percy resisted the urge to roll his eyes, instead saying, "I was just giving you the chance to come to your senses."

The boy snarled. "We'll see who's making jokes in the end, pipsqueak."

The two stood facing each other, the campers deathly silent. Percy could feel Bailey's eyes on him from one of the entrances and glanced to his left to see Pelagia looking at the Ares camper like he was a complete idiot. She did take after her mother after all.

Percy said, "Well, since I'm your counselor, I don't think this would be a fair fight if we fought directly. I'll give you one free blow, anywhere you like."

The camper blinked. "I'm carrying an axe," he said dumbly.

Percy blinked back. "I realize that," he replied slowly. "I said you get a free blow."

A big grin split the camper's face. "You're going to regret this," he said evilly, walking up to Percy.

Percy stood still as the boy hefted the axe, his aim undoubtedly Percy's face. When the Ares camper pulled back his axe to swing, most of the audience gasped. The axe slammed right at Percy's face, but he didn't even flinch. When it connected, the axe bent and shattered. Percy whipped out Riptide, disarmed the camper, and tripped him before pinning him down with his sword at his throat, all faster than the camper could comprehend.

The camper's eyes were wide, still in shock about his axe shattering. Percy stood over him threateningly, waiting for the camper to look at him again. When he did, his eyes were wide with fear. Percy made sure he understood why he was made a counselor. Then Percy grinned and stood up, offering him a hand.

The camper took it gratefully and allowed himself to be helped up, arching an eyebrow at Percy afterwards. "I would say you cheated," he began, "but all's fair in war, right?" He said it with respect and a hint of awe, and Percy knew that he had just made a friend. Odd that the first friend he made in the future was with an Ares camper.

Percy grinned in response and asked, "What's your name, camper?"

"Henry," he said. "Henry Brown. So you were submerged in the River Styx?"

"I was," Percy replied, noticing by this point that the rest of the campers were milling and chatting on the arena floor. "Though, I wouldn't recommend it."

"Fair enough," replied Henry, scuffing his shoe on the ground.

"Excuse me," said Percy politely as he spotted Pelagia. He headed over to her, where she was boredly facing two excitedly chatting friends.

The friend facing Percy's direction smiled brilliantly at him, causing her other friend to turn around in response. He saw Pelagia roll her eyes as they went up to him excitedly, giving him their most brilliant smiles.

"Percy, that was awesome!" one of them exclaimed breathily.

"Who knew he'd be sexy _and_ talented?" the other one giggled.

Percy turned a bit red, but evenly said, "If you could excuse me, ladies, I'd like to talk to Pelagia."

The girls' faces fell and they trudged off. Percy didn't feel bad in the slightest. He walked over to his daughter and somewhat apprehensively said, "Hey."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Not only are you an idiot, but you're a showoff, too."

Percy casted his eyes down and sighed. "Look, Pelagia," he began, "I understand why you feel the way you do. And no matter what your answer is to the question I'm about to ask, I want to let you know that I'm going to do my best to try and make up for it as best I can. All that I'm asking is that you give me a chance."

She tried to glare at him again, but it wasn't quite as effective. So she huffed and stomped off, leaving Percy behind to sigh again. He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned around to see Chiron, who Percy knew wouldn't have let that fight go unsupervised. "She'll warm up to you, Percy. You just have to keep at it and be patient."

"Yeah, I know," said Percy softly, watching Pelagia's retreating back.

"Everyone, if I could have your attention please!" Chiron shouted, garnering the campers' attention. "Let's start going to our activities and lessons now, and don't forget that it's Friday!"

Percy heard some excited mutterings of 'Yeah, capture the flag!' like usual and the crowd began dispersing, then Chiron turned to him and asked, "Have you forged an alliance yet?"

Percy turned to Chiron. "Wait, what?"

"Even though you're a counselor, you're still a camper," said Chiron. "I expect you'll be participating tonight?"

Percy grinned. He had always loved Camp Half-Blood's capture the flag games. "Of course!" he said excitedly. Then he asked, "Which cabins are facing off?"

"Ares and Athena," said Chiron. And before Percy could ask, Chiron said, "Pelagia is an Athena. You're the only Poseidon."

"Guess I've got to make an alliance, then," said Percy, his mind jumping to the Athena cabin immediately.

"Yes," said Chiron. "I'm going to head into the Big House and leave you to do some rounds—I have reading to catch up on."

And with that, Chiron left, leaving Percy to deal with the campers. Who wouldn't want to deal with over a hundred demigods?

Percy took a deep breath and turned around to find an abnormally large group of campers waiting expectantly, swords at the ready.

"Will you give us a sword lesson today, Percy?" a timid voice asked from a girl Percy couldn't locate.

Since he was already there, Percy figured it couldn't hurt. "Sure," he said, pulling out Riptide. "Send your best swordfighter out."

The crowd parted and all turned to look at a single person, who stepped up to the front. Percy raised an eyebrow. Why he had expected anything different he didn't know.

"You use a sword?" Percy asked Pelagia.

She sent him a chilling glare. "Of course I do. What else would I use?" she asked as if Percy was an idiot for asking.

"Well, your mother was very gifted with a knife," said Percy, uncapping Riptide. "Now show me what you've got."

Percy knew this was a great opportunity for her to blow off some steam towards him. He also knew that she would probably fight better than she normally would. He became serious, taking a deep breath as he took up a defensive stance.

Pelagia lunged at him, feinting right before jabbing left. He blocked, meaning to parry and return, but her blow held much more power than he was expecting. He staggered back and reset his feet just in time to block another slash, which then turned into a complete onslaught of attacks. She pushed him back as he blocked, parried, spun, and dodged, looking for an opening. The more she attacked the wilder and more out of control her swings grew, though, instilling confidence in Percy that the fight would be decided in less than a minute.

Indeed, it wasn't much longer after that when Percy deflected and redirected a poorly-aimed blow, sending Pelagia off balance. Percy used the move that Luke taught him and disarmed his daughter, sending her sword clattering to the ground. Pelagia just glared at him as he held his sword at her throat.

There was silence, then a boy camper loudly said, "But she's better than you! She was attacking the whole time, you just got in a lucky shot!"

Percy turned to face his audience. "Actually, I had the situation completely under control the whole time. Being good at swordplay isn't all about having the best offense. Because I had good defense, I could watch my opponent's style of fighting and recognize when the best time to strike would be." He glanced at Pelagia to see her even angrier than before. "Not to say that Pelagia's offense wasn't good, only that she got too…enthusiastic in her attacks."

Pelagia stepped up to him again, holding her sword. "Fine," she said. "You come at me this time then."

Percy shrugged and turned to face her. "If you're sure," he said.

Her eyes narrowed. "Believe me, I'm ready," she said.

Percy crouched and sprang, his sword practically whistling through the air before it slammed against Pelagia's. She was ready for it and went for the immediate disarm, but Percy spun and went on the offensive, scrutinizing her defense for any holes. He saw that it was almost airtight…almost being the keyword. There was always a hole—a _weakness_—in someone's defense, it was just up to the opposing swordsman to spot it. Percy went immediately for Pelagia's weakness once he had spotted it, noticing that she had a slight stutter when having to turn her hand over. He feinted magnificently, completely throwing her off balance, then went back for the other side. Because of the stutter, Pelagia couldn't get back in time, leaving Percy's sword to sneak past her guard and disarm her with a flick of his wrist.

Her sword clattered to the floor once more, leaving her once more to glare at him. Percy thought the glaring was getting pretty old already.

"The trick there," said Percy, addressing the campers, "is to pay attention to the weakness in your opponent's guard and exploit it."

Percy went on to explain various sword fighting tactics before setting everyone on drills and turning to Pelagia. "Good job with the sword," he said, grinning.

"Stop trying to be anything even remotely resembling my father or friend," she replied tersely.

Percy resisted the urge to sigh. "Who is the head of your cabin?" he asked, changing the subject.

She looked at him condescendingly. "I've been at camp for seventeen years. I am." Percy opened his mouth to speak, but he was cut off again. "And Athena and Poseidon will _never_ walk into capture the flag together, so you can forget about it."

Percy sighed and wrapped up the lesson, leaving to go do some rounds and offer his help after. He walked morosely through camp, trying to think of what Annabeth would do in a situation like this. Rarely ever did Percy meet such resistance to his friendliness, and when he did it seemed that he was always somehow able to get them to eventually like him, like with Clarisse. It seemed, though, that Pelagia just had a deep, ingrained hatred for him that didn't have a chance of going away. Percy wasn't thinking about quitting, but he couldn't help but think that this was going to be incredibly difficult…more difficult than he had first thought.

He sighed and looked over the water as he walked past it, his mind turning back to Annabeth. Only two days he had been without her, yet it had felt like a lifetime. Maybe it was because he knew she was never coming back. It scared him how quickly he had come to terms with that fact and acknowledged that there was no good in being depressed about it, because being depressed not only wasn't going to bring her back, but would, in turn, do nothing but waste his own time. Yeah, it was heartwarming to reminisce about the good times they had had together, and he missed her so much that there was a dull throb in his chest, but he figured he shouldn't let it hinder how he lived his life—he knew that's how Annabeth would want it. It scared Percy how accepting he was that Annabeth was gone and he was determined to not be depressed only two days after he learned of her death; he knew it wasn't natural. Maybe it was the time skip or maybe it was the fact that he hadn't been in love with her for long, but he seemed to be moving on unnaturally fast.

He heard two heavy _thunks_ and his eyebrows furrowed, his train of thought snapped. Another pair of _thunks_ rang in his ears and he turned around, his eyes falling on the archery range. There were a group of boys gathered around two archers who were lost in concentration, and Percy thought he saw money exchange hands.

"What the…?" he muttered quietly before walking over there.

As he got closer, he realized that one of the archers was Bailey and the other was a tall, lightly-muscled boy who looked to be about a year older. They both drew fletching back to ear and let fly, the boy's arrow bumping Bailey's mid-air and sending it off course.

"That's three in a row now, loser!" one of the boys in the crowd, which Percy realized was all boys, shouted. "What's the matter, can't hit a stupid little target?"

Bailey said nothing, a steely expression on her face as she took another arrow out of her quiver. Percy could see, though, that her hand was shaking, her lips were quivering, and there were frustrated tears making her eyes glisten.

She took a deep, shaky breath, closed her eyes, and let her arrow fly, cringing as she heard the clatter of the boy's arrow hitting hers. Her hand clenched around her bow and she went to draw another arrow, yanking it out as another boy in the crowd said, "What's the matter, Bailey? You always act like you're so much better than us and have something smart to say! Why so quiet now?"

Percy frowned and pushed his way to the front of the crowd. Nobody deserved to be treated like that. The crowd fell silent as he walked up to Bailey and asked, "Are you alright?"

Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Yeah," she said slowly. "Why?"

Percy scratched his neck. "I'm…uh…helping you out," he said, the statement almost turning into a question.

Her demeanor instantly went from confused to icy. "I don't need your help," she said coldly.

Percy let out a disbelieving snort. "Well I'm doing it whether you say you need it or not," he asserted.

She tried to stare him down but realized she wouldn't win the battle, so she folded her arms and looked down. Percy, taking her silence as assent, looked out over the crowd and said, "What's the matter with all of you?"

The boys were looking down at the ground, ashamed, until one of them said, "Well, she's a…you know."

Percy shook his head. "Maybe if you didn't treat her like this she wouldn't treat you like that in return."

"We tried being friendly to her," said another bold camper.

"Well maybe she could tell you were all mean people on the inside," Percy snapped. He felt Bailey's eyes on him. "There may not have been any quests in a while, but think: If something bad did happen and you all needed to fight, how could you fight well together if you treat the people who are supposed to have your back like this? How would you be able to fight as a cohesive team? We may all be separated by our godly parents, but everybody here at Camp Half-Blood is family. Start acting like it."

There was silence for a minute, then the boy who had been hitting Bailey's arrows with his own turned to her, his eyes cast down, and said, "Percy's right. I…I'm sorry, Bailey."

She looked over at Percy with vulnerable eyes. He gave her a quick, encouraging nod. The boy was looking at Bailey now, sincerity in his eyes. "It's okay," she said quietly.

The boy nodded sadly before saying, "C'mon, let's go guys."

The rest of the guys shuffled off sadly, some of them casting apologetic looks in Bailey's direction. That left just Percy and Bailey alone, standing there somewhat awkwardly. Finally, looking towards his feet, she mumbled, "Thanks."

And as Percy looked at her, he realized something.

She was lonely.

Yeah, she acted cold and frigid, but she just wanted to meet someone who would look past that and see who she really was. All she wanted was a friend.

He cleared his throat. "No problem," he said. Then, after another small silence, he asked, "May I join you?"

She gave him a timid smile. "Sure," she said shyly.

As Percy jogged over to the side of the range to get a bow and quiver of arrows, he couldn't help but be amazed at Bailey's quick change from confident to shy once she opened up. As he thought, it was just a very tough mask she had on for everybody else.

When he joined her she was already deep in concentration, fletching drawn back to ear. She let the arrow fly, smiling slightly as it slammed into the direct center of the target. Percy licked his lips, awkwardly brought the bow up, pulled back, and let the arrow loose with a _twang _that made him cringe. The arrow went high and wide, disappearing into the forest behind.

He heard a light, angelic laugh come from Bailey and smiled over his shoulder at her, shaking his head. He secretly felt that she should laugh as much as possible with a laugh like that. "I never said I was good at it," he said.

"I can see that," Bailey said, letting another arrow slam right next to her last. "You should definitely stay away from something as refined and elegant as a bow and arrow. Stick to your silly, brutish sword."

"Oh," said Percy, slowly taking out Riptide. "Silly and brutish, you say?" He handed Riptide, still capped, to Bailey. "You should be able to hit me easily then, right?"

Bailey uncapped Riptide, which sprang to life. It looked silly indeed in her hands, which had probably only held a sword two or three times in her life. She swung wildly—wildly, yet slowly—at him and he easily dodged, already anticipating her next movements. For five or six minutes they kept this up, Percy easily dodging Bailey's sluggish swings until she was out of breath.

She went down on one knee, breathing hard, sweat beaded on her forehead. "I give up," she said meekly.

"Each person has their own strengths," said Percy, helping her up and not noticing her slight blush as he did so. "That's why we all fight instead of just one of us. We cover each other's weaknesses."

She frowned. "I don't think it's so good for me to have such a glaring weakness, though. It leaves me vulnerable to close-range attacks," she said thoughtfully.

"Well, if there's anything I'm good at, it's swordplay," said Percy. "Anytime you want some lessons, just let me know." He decided to test the waters. "I'd be glad to help a friend."

Bailey froze for a second, obviously not accustomed to the word friend. Then she smiled and said, "I think I'd like that."

He smiled back at her. "Just let me know when," he said.

"Tomorrow morning?" she asked, biting her lip afterwards.

"Sure," said Percy, turning his head to see Henry approaching him.

"Percy!" Henry called, jogging up to him and completely ignoring Bailey.

"What's up, Henry?" Percy asked.

"The Ares cabin would like to make an alliance with you," he said.

Percy grinned. "Sure," he said with a shrug. Then he turned to Bailey. "Who are you with?" he asked her.

Bailey did nothing but glare at Henry with such intensity that even _he_ began to cower. "I'll…uh, get going now," he said quickly before turning around and jogging back off to the other Ares campers victoriously, cheers erupting from them when they heard the news.

Percy decided he'd need to help Bailey with her people skills. She may have opened up to him, but that seemed to be about it.

"I take it you're with Athena?" Percy asked.

She nodded. "Yep," she said, smiling challengingly at him, her demeanor completely different now that Henry was no longer there. "You ready to lose?"

"You'll eat those words," he replied teasingly, beginning to walk away from her so he could go back to making his rounds.

At least he had a good chance of capture the flag being interesting that night.

**A/N: I know there wasn't much Percy/Pelagia interaction this chapter, but I promise it's coming soon. I'm trying to set up some trials and tribulations later on. And remember, this is a PERCABETH story, I promise you Percy won't be romantically involved with anyone else.**


	4. Ninety Percent Mental

**A/N: Hello all! Sorry about the delay, but school started up again for me, ugh.**

**Please Enjoy!**

**Chapter 4 – Ninety Percent Mental**

Percy strode powerfully towards the middle of the forest with most of the Ares team following.

"So, Percy, you just barge through and go straight for the flag, yeah?" Henry said excitedly, expecting an incredibly easy win.

But Percy frowned at him. "I don't really think that's fair," he said. "I think I'll hold off as many as I can while the rest of you guys keep going for the flag."

Henry chuckled, slapping Percy's back once so hard he was almost knocked off his feet. "I had a feeling you would say something like that," he said, hefting his new axe higher onto his shoulder. "But no matter what you're doing, as long as you're on our team we'll win, so that's still fine with me."

"Good," said Percy, waves of power radiating from him as he uncapped Riptide and ran towards the mid-line that divided the two sides.

As soon as the offense of the other team saw him they scattered, obviously in disarray and confusion, especially with the knowledge that there was no way to incapacitate him. Percy sighed, disappointed that Pelagia didn't formulate a plan around the fact that he was on the other team. He even made it easy on them by doing a head-on assault.

They regrouped and charged, at this point hoping that while some of them were stopped by Percy, the others would make it through. But something was up…

Percy narrowed his eyes at the formation, because that's exactly what it was: a formation. It wasn't a random, wild charge; they had actually regrouped into a coordinated attack. A volley of arrows were suddenly fired at Percy, obscuring his vision for half a second. But that half-second was enough time for him to be swamped by the enemy as he was left in confusion, the rest of the enemy team flying over the line towards the flag. Then the attack was over as the rest of the enemy left him standing on the center line in a daze.

He frowned, sighed and began advancing into enemy territory, figuring he could at least provide an exit route for his allies, who were surely much closer to obtaining the flag than the enemy. He ducked a sudden arrow and lunged at the archer, who managed to block his attack with her bow, which resisted the blow.

Percy looked down to see none other than Bailey grinning up at him from underneath her bow. She swept his feet out from under him in his moment of surprise and stuck her tongue out before running over the center line and into Ares territory.

Percy stood up and jogged after her, knowing she was looking for a challenge from her only friend in camp. He made sure to keep her in sight the whole time, picking up his speed and gaining on her. She was running as fast as she could, her hair streaming behind her and her quiver bouncing on her back.

There was sudden movement out of the corner of his eyes, which widened as he saw that it was a fellow camper throwing a spear at Bailey with a malicious grin on his face. Percy kicked on his afterburners as he saw the spear speed through the air in slow motion, seemingly right on target.

Percy dove and tackled Bailey, sending them both tumbling to the ground as the spear slammed into a tree behind them and stuck there.

Their faces were only inches apart, Bailey's eyes wide as they fought to catch their breath. Bailey's cheeks slowly, slightly turned pink as Percy asked, "Are you alright?"

Bailey swallowed, her eyes locked on Percy's. "Fine," she breathed.

The corners of Percy's eyes crinkled as he smiled at her. "Good," he said enthusiastically as he stood up and offered her a hand.

She gratefully took it and stood up, shakily brushing herself off as she saw how deep the spear was embedded in the thick trunk of the tree. "Did you see who tried to kill me?" Bailey asked even though she had a pretty good idea of who it was.

"No," said Percy, his heart pounding. Bailey had been three feet from losing her life. Who _had_ tried to kill her? Surely a fellow camper couldn't hate her that much! "All I know is that it was a guy."

Percy and Bailey stood staring at each other for a moment, then Bailey sheepishly said, "Thanks."

Percy smiled at her. "No problem," he said.

They stood in silence for a few seconds, then Bailey said, "So…now what?"

Percy gave her a small smile. "Well, since you're in enemy territory…" he trailed off, taking a step towards her as he capped Riptide and stuck it in his pocket.

Bailey sighed. "You're taking me captive?" she asked.

"Will you come quietly or do I have to force you?" Percy asked, bending his legs to get ready to spring at her.

She grinned. "Since when does a child of Artemis allow anything to be easy for the enemy?"

She went to sprint away again, but Percy lunged and grabbed her around the waist, pulling them both down to the ground. She landed on top of him with his arm around her waist and her hands on his chest, neither of them moving.

There was the sound of crunching leaves and Percy turned his head to see his daughter looking at both of them with one eyebrow raised. "I guess you two were too busy being all lovey-dovey with each other to hear that the game is over already," she said before turning around, not heeding Percy's cries of her name.

Bailey stood up and looked down at him, sadly saying, "Sorry."

Percy sighed as he stood up and dusted himself off. "It's not your fault," he replied. "Pelagia's determined to see and assume the worst of me."

Bailey placed a hand on his shoulder and he looked over at her as she said, "Don't worry, you'll get to her eventually."

"I seem to be the only one who isn't thinking the same way," he said as they walked towards the Big House, where Henry was standing with the Athena flag in his hands.

The Ares side was clapping as the Athena side did their best to glare daggers at them, the victors oblivious to the negative vibes. Henry stepped down so Chiron could address the campers. "All right, everyone," he said. "Good game of capture the flag, and good win by the Ares team. Before you go to dinner, please don't forget that we have a field trip to Olympus tomorrow."

Percy scanned the crowd for the boy who threw the spear at Bailey as they began walking towards dinner, though he didn't spot him. Percy was stopped short as Chiron gently grabbed his shoulder, stopping him. Everyone else kept walking as Chiron said, "Your feelings for Annabeth are almost nonexistent now, aren't they?"

Percy's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "I don't know how or why, but…yeah, they are," he admitted.

Chiron stroked his beard in thought. "I think you'll need to have a face-to-face chat with a certain love goddess," he said slowly.

"You think this is Aphrodite's doing?" Percy asked in shock.

"I don't see how else this could've happened," Chiron said seriously. "And you know how she likes to have her fun."

Percy nodded slowly, remembering the time he had met the goddess. "You're right, I'll definitely need to have a word with her," he said.

They headed to dinner together and Percy sat down at the head table, noticing that Pelagia was glaring at him and Bailey was looking a little down. He sighed and got his food, making sure to scrape a piece in the fire to appease the gods before digging in.

Chiron left the dining area after only a short time, Percy turning his head to watch the camp director walk back towards the Big House. He looked back at the campers just in time to see a big glop of mashed potatoes smack Bailey in the back of the head, most of the campers laughing as a few started the infamous 'loser cough'. Bailey stiffened for the merest of moments before relaxing and going back to eating, the potatoes drying and solidifying in her hair.

Percy angrily stood up, making the laughing stop, grabbed his food, marched over to Bailey, and sat next to her in a protective manner. The evidence that she was more affected than she pretended to be was the glistening, unshed tears in her eyes. "Leave," she said angrily.

Percy arched an eyebrow at her, remaining motionless otherwise. "And why would I do that?"

Bailey stabbed at her food viciously. "I don't need your pity," she said quietly. "I'm used to this, just leave me alone."

Percy chuckled derisively. "If you're so used to this, then you wouldn't take your anger out on me," he said, making her stiffen again. "And you really think I'm doing this out of pity?"

Bailey softly, sadly replied, "Why else would you be doing this? You're cool and I'm…well, I'm an antisocial loser."

Percy was quiet for a long moment, chewing his food thoughtfully. Finally, he said, "You know what? You're right." Bailey's head snapped towards him, hurt evident in her eyes. He knew her toughness was just a façade. "If you don't realize just how truly amazing you are, you really _are _a loser. They're all just pathetic jerks. You think I'd be friends with someone who wasn't cool?"

He felt pride warm him when he saw her confidence and smile grow. "Thanks," she said. Even though she was just as old as Percy, she was almost like a little kid when it came to friendship.

She finished her food and began pulling the potato out of her hair. Percy took that opportunity to stand up and dangerously ask, "Who threw the potatoes?"

Many of the campers shifted nervously, all looking somewhere near the Ares table. Percy said, "You either take responsibility or the whole camp does. I guarantee you your friends won't be that friendly with you after I'm done with all of them."

There was absolute stillness for a few seconds, then a younger Ares boy stood up nervously. He opened his mouth to say something, but Percy beat him to it…or so he thought, but Henry beat _him_ to it. "One hundred laps around camp," he growled in the boy's face.

But now not faced with the prospect of facing Percy, he found his voice, laughing nervously. "Come on, Henry. It's _Bailey_."

"One hundred fifty," Henry snapped. "If she's cool with Percy, she's cool with us. You had no reason to throw potatoes at her."

Percy was pleasantly surprised, though a tiny bit disappointed that Henry only seemed to be doing it because she was friends with him.

Meanwhile, the boy angrily replied, "She's a bitch! I'm not doing the laps."

Henry narrowed his eyes at the boy and took a step closer to him, now towering over him intimidatingly. "Two hundred laps or you sleep outside tonight," he said in a dangerous voice that sounded eerily similar to the tone of voice Ares had used with Percy in Las Vegas. "I'll let the harpies whip up a punishment for you."

"You can't be serious!" the boy cried, making Percy resist the urge to laugh when the boy looked to him for help. Percy remained absolutely neutral.

"Three…" said Henry warningly.

The boy let out an anguished sound and began jogging out of the dinner area, a few of the campers laughing at him. Henry turned to Bailey and said, "The Ares table apologizes on behalf of its idiotic member, Bailey. And if you ever need someone's butt kicked, don't hesitate to call upon us."

Bailey looked at Henry oddly as the Ares leader sat down, and Percy said, "See, Bailey? You've just got to give everyone a chance—not everyone here is mean."

Bailey blinked and half-heartedly said, "I guess."

Percy grinned, bumping her shoulder to make her really pay attention to him. "C'mon, Bailey. You're making me depressed," he teased.

She turned to him but didn't really respond, except to say, "I'm going to bed."

She went to leave, deep in thought, but stopped as Percy began speaking. "Just remember that we'll have to postpone the sword lesson since we're going to Olympus tomorrow."

Bailey nodded in a manner that assured Percy she was actually listening, then left for good with the rest of the campers. Percy hurried over to the Athena table, sitting across from Pelagia and looking at her pointedly before she could really get up, making her plop back down in a huff. She waited until everyone was out of earshot to say, "What do you want now?"

"I just want you to give me a chance," he replied.

Pelagia looked at him like he was an idiot and said, "You had your chance. You blew it."

Percy remained silent for a minute, then silently asked, "Do you think I wanted this?"

Pelagia rubbed her forehead wearily. "I don't really care if you wanted this."

Percy wasn't one to give up, though. "Do you think I wanted to miss you growing up? Do you think I wanted to be blasted forward in time? Do you think I wanted to lose the love of my life? All I _do_ want is for you to give me a chance. Is it so hard that I get that one thing?"

She stubbornly replied, "A great way to show mom is the love of your life, hanging all over Bailey like that."

Percy made a frustrated sound, amazed that his daughter could be so thickheaded and stubborn. "I'm just trying to help her…she's lonely."

"And you think I'm not?" Pelagia snapped furiously, making Percy blink in surprise. "I thought I was an orphan for seventeen years, and all you do when you finally show up is ignore me."

Percy pinched the bridge of his nose in exhaustion. Women were so confusing. "I don't want to force it when you hate me," he said quietly.

Pelagia snorted in a cruel manner. "You're right," she said. "I do hate you."

Percy's heart twisted. "Look, Pelagia," he said thoughtfully, "I understand why you hate me. I really do. I just…I just wish you wouldn't judge someone based on something they had no influence over." He stood up and stretched, leaving his daughter in silence as he hunched his shoulders and walked back towards his cabin.

He cringed as she left him with a parting blow, shouting at his retreating back, "Maybe I wouldn't if you had been around and raised me like a real father!"

Percy walked back into his cabin, staring down at the floor as he tried to fight off his depression. This thing with Pelagia was definitely much harder than he had initially thought it would be. Then he grinned as an idea struck him.

What better way to fight fire than with fire?

He marched back up to Pelagia, who had just stood up, and grabbed her wrist, surprising her. "What are you doing?" she demanded furiously, doing her best to try to break out of his iron grip.

"You know," he replied thoughtfully as he easily dragged her towards the stables, "I learned a lot of things from my mother. I learned how to love, how to forgive, and how to respect other people." Pelagia paled. "I wonder what your grandmother would have to say about this."

"This isn't fair!" Pelagia said on the edge of hysterics, digging her heels in as they neared the stable doors. Percy was glad to see that his mom hadn't lost her touch when it came to parenting properly. "Letting your mother fight your fights for you," she accused.

Percy laughed as he pulled harder in response to his daughter really putting up a fight and a half. "You're too stubborn for me to defeat one on one. Luckily, I have reinforcements," he said. "I'd be an idiot to not use my resources…I'm sure you'd agree with me there."

"Percy, stop!" she pleaded, her knuckles turning white on the door as she held onto them with a death grip. Percy was unrelenting, though, managing to make her lose her hold. "Dad, please," Pelagia begged.

Hearing her call him 'dad' stopped him completely in his tracks. It made her stop too, thankfully, since he had accidentally relinquished his grip on her. "What did you just call me?" he choked out without realizing it, a warm feeling spreading throughout his body.

"That's what you are, isn't it?" Pelagia said quietly, not meeting his eyes.

"No," Percy replied quietly, making her look up in confusion. "I'm not your dad yet…at least, not by anything but blood. I'm…I am hoping to become your dad, though. I haven't been around for seventeen years. I just want to make up for it." As Pelagia remained silent, obviously deep in thought, he laughed. "I will say, though, that you're not making it easily."

She finally looked at him, and as she did he realized that that had been the wrong thing to say. "You think _I'm_ not making it easy? You made everything as difficult as it could get for a whole seventeen years!" she shouted. "And you're definitely not making anything easier now!"

Percy was done being mister sympathetic. "You're lying," he said quietly, making her eyes widen. "You've been nothing but secretly happy since you discovered I was alive." Her eyes began to fill with tears. "Yeah, you're angry that I wasn't there for you, but you know deep down that I'm not responsible for that." Her eyes left his as she tried her best to keep her tears at bay. "You can't hold that against me, Pelagia," he said, gently touching her chin. She looked up at him with wide eyes. "I swear…no, I _promise_ with every fiber of my being that I will never, _ever_ leave you again."

Her lower lip began to tremble. "You think I trust you?" she asked defensively, though it sounded more vulnerable and filled with longing than anything else.

He smiled at her. "Yeah," he said. "I really, truly think that you trust me."

Her eyes narrowed the tiniest bit, making a single tear roll down her face. "How would you know what I'm thinking?" she asked vulnerably.

"You think you're the only one who's had a parent abandon them?" he said quietly, going off instinct alone as to what to say. "Every single person in this camp has felt the same way you feel about me towards at least one of their parents. And every single one of them trusts that parent with everything they've got." He smiled at her. "So come on, Pelagia…I know how much you just want me to be your dad."

Pelagia suddenly attacked him with a hug, crying into his shoulder as she clutched the back of his shirt in a grip so tight he was surprised the shirt didn't rip. As heavy as it made Percy's heart that he was the cause of her tears, he was happy that he seemed to have broken down her wall and gotten through to her. He wrapped his arms around her protectively as she cried, her shoulders heaving as her tears stained his shirt. "Dad," she sobbed. "I…I…"

He smiled, the name oddly fitting him. "It's alright, Pelagia," he said soothingly. "I understand."

"I wish mom could be here," she whispered as her crying began to die down to be replaced by deep shuddering breaths.

Percy took a deep breath and tightened his hold on her. "Me too, Pelagia," he whispered, smiling sadly as Annabeth's smiling face floated to the front of his mind. "Me too."

* * *

><p>Percy woke up groggily the next morning, stretching as he stepped out of bed. The previous night had been so much easier since him and Pelagia's relationship had become considerably better. After Pelagia had finished crying, the two of them had somewhat awkwardly said, "Good night," and gone to bed.<p>

Percy stepped out of his cabin and jogged over to the Big House as a way to wake himself up, noticing that about three-quarters of the camp was gathered in front already, backpacks packed. The rest of the camp arrived within the next ten minutes, Percy scanning the crowd for Pelagia and Bailey in the meantime. He had found them and made eye contact with both of them by the time Chiron exited the Big House, a tacky visor shading his eyes. Percy figured, though, that fashion twenty years outdated was better than fashion a couple thousand years outdated.

"Everyone ready?" he asked.

He was met with a pretty enthusiastic response and led them all over the hill to busses that were waiting. "Percy," Chiron said, pulling him aside. "You're going to be in charge of bus two, okay?"

Percy nodded confidently. "Sure," he replied. "I got it."

The ride to New York passed pretty normally (and boringly), both Pelagia and Bailey being in bus number one since they had filed in in alphabetical order.

They arrived at the Empire State Building and all filed out, Percy amazed by its magnificence and height as always, that feeling of overwhelming tininess never failing to plague him no matter how many times he saw the building. They all went inside and over to the elevator operator, who recognized Chiron instantly. The elevator wasn't big enough for all of them so they took it to the five-hundredth floor in several trips, Percy remaining down below with the rest of the campers while Chiron went to the top to supervise the unloading.

When it came down to the last trip, there was only Percy, Pelagia, Bailey, and Henry left, all of whom stepped in the elevator. It was a three minute ride to the top, the first thirty seconds of which passed with numerous throat-clearings and quiet coughs.

Then Pelagia turned to Henry and said, "You guys did a great job in capture the flag last night."

Henry uncomfortably cleared his throat. "Um…yeah, you too," he said in an unusual display of nervousness. "It was all thanks to Percy that we won, though."

Percy laughed. "What did I do? I was swamped and left in the dust," he said. "You grabbed the flag."

"Yeah, but you delayed them long enough for me to grab it," Henry replied. "I saw the strategy you came up with though, Pelagia," he added quickly and enthusiastically. "It was pretty interesting."

Pelagia smiled at him. "It was only designed to stop my dad, though…it didn't really do much in terms of getting the flag," she admitted.

"I think you were both being idiots," Bailey said coldly, stepping close to Percy. Frankly, he felt a tiny bit uncomfortable. "Ares should've used him even more as a diversion and Athena should've recruited him in the first place."

Everything became awkward after that, the last minute of the trip passing in complete silence. Percy would definitely need to work on Bailey's jealousy issues.

When they arrived at the top, they stepped off to be treated by the magnificent spectacle that was Olympus. Percy's jaw dropped when he really looked at it, though. Everything was bigger, more grand, and much more beautiful, gold and silver being the main themes. Everything was different, but in a good way.

"When…?" Percy breathed, standing next to Chiron.

"Annabeth's other legacy," Chiron said. "For the first few months following your…disappearance, she completely immersed herself in her work. She was done planning all this by the time Pelagia was born, but she wasn't around to see it finished."

Yet another pride of Annabeth's he had taken away from her by not being there. She didn't even get to see her masterpiece that he knew she had put more work into than anything before. It was just so unfair.

"You go talk with Aphrodite, Percy, and meet up with us as soon as you're done," Chiron whispered, leading the campers down the walkway. Percy looked at him as he pointed at one of the grand temples on top of a hill, nodded his understanding, and set off.

It was closer than expected, even though when he arrived the temple was truly enormous. It was beautiful, too, each glance changing it a tiny bit just as each glance at Aphrodite had her changing a bit. Percy imagined there was some sort of magic much similar to what made Aphrodite beautiful surrounding it. But, just like Aphrodite, it seemed fake and superficial.

Percy pushed open the thirty-foot tall door and stepped inside, not caring when the door slammed ominously shut behind him. He walked deep into the temple, which was not only furnished but built similarly to a house on the inside, Percy ending up in a living room when he was done.

Aphrodite was already sitting in a chair, smiling at him with her fingers steepled in front of her. The smile was dangerous, though, and warned him that he was about to deal with someone very powerful.

"Percy!" Aphrodite greeted him exuberantly, though she didn't stand up. Instead, she pointed to an empty chair across from her and said, "Sit."

Percy did just that, not backing down when Aphrodite met his eyes directly. She smirked. "Oh, Percy, you're so cute when you're naïve," she said. "Did you really think you could come in here all on your own and expect to bully me, a goddess?" As she spoke, Percy began to realize that she wasn't beautiful at all; in fact, she was very ugly even as her outward features shifted and changed to make her look as beautiful and attractive as possible. "Come on, Percy. You should know better."

"I'm not trying to bully you," Percy said. "I'm just curious."

Aphrodite smiled wickedly at him. "You mean you're confused," she said. "Because that's all that love is: confusing."

"Of course it's confusing when you're messing with people's minds all the time," Percy retorted.

Aphrodite frowned. "I'm not really messing with your mind," she replied with feigned hurt. Percy rolled his eyes. "I just toned down your feelings for Annabeth."

Chiron had been right! "And why is that?" Percy asked dangerously.

Aphrodite shrugged with mock innocence. "Oh, I don't know," she said. "Consider it a favor after everything you've been through. It's my gift to you that you don't have to suffer because of your love for Annabeth. Who wants to go to the future only to be in misery the entire time?" She smiled at him. "You have to admit you've been happier since I took those feelings away."

"What are you planning?" Percy asked suspiciously.

Aphrodite's smile in return may have been one of the smallest, yet most dangerous smiles he had ever seen. "I'm not planning _anything_," she replied with the worst acting ever, letting Percy know that he was going to be figuring out soon enough and that he wouldn't like it. "But you know how I like to have fun," she continued. "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy."

"All I am to you is a way to pass the time?" Percy asked angrily.

Aphrodite snorted in contempt. "Every aspect of love is controlled by me, Perseus Jackson," she said. "You mortals are my building blocks, building whichever masterpiece I wish."

"You better count my piece out," Percy replied before exiting the room. "I'll continue loving Annabeth no matter what you do to me!"

Aphrodite grinned evilly. Oh, was she right in thinking this was going to be fun.

Percy, meanwhile, angrily burst out of the temple and onto the main road, ambling aimlessly up the main pathway to where he knew the rest of the campers were gathered as he did his best to rid himself of the anger pulsing through him. How dare Aphrodite treat him like her plaything?

He kicked a statue of an owl as hard as he could, sending it slamming against a wall and smashing it.

"That's not going to do any good, young one," a voice said from behind him.

Percy froze in terror. Oh Zeus…

He turned around to face none other than Athena, whose statue he had just destroyed, of course. "I-I'm sorry, Lady Athena," he said sincerely, both of them knowing he wasn't only talking about the statue.

But Athena only smiled at him in a motherly fashion. "You have nothing to be sorry for, Perseus Jackson," she replied. "In the end, you did nothing to be ashamed of."

"But…Annabeth…" he said, unable to put his feelings into sentences.

"Annabeth lived her life how she wanted to live it," Athena said, smiling as she walked up the path with Percy. "I don't think she regretted even a single thing, and died happily other than having the false knowledge that you had died."

"I thought you didn't want me to be with her," Percy said.

"I didn't," Athena replied bluntly. "But I was being immature and foolish," she admitted, surprising Percy. "You were the only one who could make Annabeth as happy as she was, that is except for little Pelagia. I think you're doing a wonderful job with her, as well."

"Really?" Percy asked, more surprised than he had ever been.

She looked over at him and he saw her eyes widen as she caught sight of something on his arm, which he instinctively covered up. Then she shook her head, smiled distractedly, and said, "I think you need to follow what you're trying to teach Bailey and have more faith and confidence in yourself. You're a good man."

"Thanks," said Percy, still amazed.

The most surprising thing, though, was when Athena pulled him in for a hug. "You're my son now, Percy, since you are the father of my grandchild," she said. "Take care of yourself."

Then she hurried off, muttering to herself while leaving Percy alone and confused. That was the single most surprising and undeniably odd conversation he had ever had with anybody.

He shrugged, watched her disappear, and headed back to join the rest of the camp, a spring in his step.

If he had gained the approval of Athena, he knew had to be doing something right.

**A/N: Whelp, there you go! Hope you enjoyed it!**

**Thanks for reading and I hope to see your review!**


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